TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) - Six Tuskegee University students who went to Africa to study for the summer have returned home after being delayed in Liberia for weeks because of the Ebola outbreak, the school said.

The school issued a statement Tuesday night saying the students had arrived at the Atlanta airport after departing Liberia on Sunday.

Tuskegee’s communications office released a photo of the group at the airport, where they were greeted by “Welcome Home” balloons, Atlanta-area alumni, the student government president and others.

Fall classes began Wednesday, but most of the students went home with relatives and are temporarily excused from classes.

The students - five women and a man whose names weren’t released publicly- were healthy and there are no quarantine restrictions, but officials said they would still be monitored for signs of illness.

“When the students arrive on campus, the student health medical staff will medically assist, and monitor them for the recommended three weeks by recording daily temperatures and other measures,” said Dr. June Samuel, director of the university’s student health center.

The students are being told “to notify us immediately if they develop any symptoms,” Samuel said.

The six students went to Africa as part of a summer program in Monrovia, Liberia. Their return to the United States was delayed because of travel restrictions linked to the outbreak of the deadly disease in West Africa.

The university previously said the group would travel back to the United States from Liberia through Accra, Ghana.

The Ebola outbreak has killed at least 1,229 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since December. Liberia has the highest death toll, and its number of cases is rising the fastest.